ABIDJAN'S STRUGGLE TO CONTROL GARBAGE SITUATION

UNCLAS ABIDJAN 000147

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ENIV PREL IV
SUBJECT: ABIDJAN'S STRUGGLE TO CONTROL GARBAGE SITUATION

REFLECTS DETERIORATION OF FORMERLY GOOD PUBLIC
INFRASTRUCTURE

REF: 2006 ABIDJAN 1004


1. (U) After more than four weeks, on January 25th, Prime
Minister Banny brokered an agreement with community groups
located near Abidjan's municipal dump at Akouedo, permitting
the resumption of discharge of the city's waste stream.
Prior to this breakthrough, the city had become increasingly
fouled by rotting mounds of garbage at nearly every
intersection and along every major road; a situation made
worse by the noxious clouds of smoke hanging over much of the
city emanating from residents' ad hoc efforts at
incineration. Traffic flow was severely affected at certain
chokepoints and no small number of traffic accidents were
ascribed to the combined effects of thick smoke with narrowed
passages.


2. (SBU) In the wake of the agreement to reopen the
150-hectare Akouedo landfill, efforts could be seen all over
the city removing the mounds of refuse. On February 2,
EconOff visited the Director of Abidjan District's Direction
of Environment and Public Hygiene, technocrat Moyabi KONE to
get a sense of how the operation is going. Kone explained
that Akouedo, in operation since 1965, should be closed
because of the proximity of nearby settlements, and that a
city of Abidjan's size should have at least three discharge
points rather than one. The accumulating trash had
scandalized the country's elite and occasioned dire
commentary from the press, but according to Kone, had not
resulted in a feared-cholera or other public health crisis.
Long-term, Kone's office would like to see Akouedo closed and
another center opened; a new site has been selected and an
Italian company had placed a $26 million bid to construct,
operate and eventually turn over the facility to the
government (complete with modern impermeable lining to
prevent groundwater contamination). Kone indicated, however,
that final approval for the project has been held up at the
ministerial level for the past two years.


3. (U) Kone explained that Abidjan's refuse is not
well-suited for incineration, as is often suggested as a
means of addressing Akouedo's inadequacies. The composition
of trash is too humid to allow efficient burning. Similarly,
modern techniques in use to boost landfill lifespans in the
West, such as injection of oxygen, would not result in
meaningful improvement given that tropical temperatures here
already promote rapid biodegradation. Kone lamented the
utter lack of trash separation and recycling, which
considerably boosts volumes ending up in Akuedo. Pointing to
the tendency of rich sections of town to generate up to 1.5
kg per person of trash daily combined with the sharp increase
in the city's population since the country was divided in
2002 (up to 6 million from 4.5),Kone said Akuedo, even fully
reopened, is not a viable solution for the long term.


4. (SBU) Kone arranged for EconOff and LES to visit Akouedo.
The computerized operation was surprisingly efficient. A
virtual parade of trucks was arriving every two minutes,
brimming with collected garbage to be rapidly weighed and
dispatched to the current discharge site. The private
companies bill the government CFA 6000 (USD 12) per ton (with
the average truck bringing in 22 tons of trash),and the
Akouedo operation's billing system appeared to accurately
track inflow and accounts payable. The discharge site, 1 km
past the site of the most egregious toxic waste dumping
(reftel),is a beehive of activity. Two large tractors push
the trash into a manageable form, where it is instantly
attacked by perhaps 75-100 well-practiced garbage salvagers
(both Ivorians and so-called "foreigners") who search for
plastic bags, cans, glass bottles and other reusables to sell.


5. (SBU) Comment. The garbage system, and its problems,
are emblematic of Cote d'Ivoire's long-term malaise. The
infrastructure, while old and fraying, is still in remarkably
good shape. But the lack of investment shows. Perhaps most
tellingly, public outrage over the prolonged accumulation of
garbage in the streets was muted. While even the very
wealthy and powerful were affected (the Ambassador's street
hosted a particularly ugly trash pile),no organized response
was evident. Perhaps this gradual acceptance of diminished
circumstances is the worst result of the ongoing crisis. End
Comment.
Hooks